Chapter 1196: The Rising Sun; Luo Chen of the Star Gate

Above the vast ocean, a figure was shooting downward like a meteor. It came to a screeching stop right before hitting the surface, sending up rolls of waves.

"My power still needs polishing. Such crude control of mana is totally not my style," he muttered. "I really got to this realm much too quickly."

He briefly looked around to determine the directions before heading straight east. Soon, a magnificent carriage appeared in sight. With a few smooth movements, Luo Chen floated over and landed on it.

The young woman on the deck immediately noticed the new passenger. She was not quite sure if it was really who she thought it was, so she greeted him tentatively, "Sage?"

Luo Chen nodded. As he passed by her, he gave an amiable smile and said, "Your cultivation has improved. Looks like you haven't been slacking off."

Zhang Jingqing was delighted by his praise. Her face lit up, but she said modestly, "It's all thanks to Uncle Dragon."

"Uncle Dragon" was, of course, none other than Black King. She credited him because whenever he actively breathed, he would attract a great quantity of ambient spirit energy, creating an environment in which the concentration of spirit energy was on par with that of a low-grade third-tier cave residence.

This was actually the same reason why Luo Chen had allowed Black King to cling to him despite not liking it very much. Since that little snake swallowed Titan Beast Stone Dragon's soul, he had become a living spirit energy vein. He could attract loads of free-floating spirit energy anywhere and anytime.

Sadly, though, he was still unable to fully utilize this ability. Unlike the Stone Dragon, who could create a fourth-tier or even fifth-tier spirit environment out of thin air, Black King needed the assistance of local spirit veins to achieve that. If he wanted to exhibit the full potential of his ability, he had to be somewhere in the vicinity of high-tier spirit veins.

While Luo Chen continued walking forward, Heavenjade and Sang Jinghe came out. They had heard the conversation outside, and upon seeing that it was indeed Luo Chen, they heaved a sigh of relief.

"Master, you're back!"

"Welcome back, Sage!"

Luo Chen waved his hand in response, relaxed to see that everyone was safe and sound. He asked, "Anything special happened in the past six months?"

Heavenjade shook her head. "Nothing major. We encountered some cultivators on the road, but no one caused trouble thanks to the Star Gate Guest Elder token you left for us."

"Good to hear that. Keep going!" Luo Chen instructed them and hurried into the carriage.

Inside, Black King was curled up on the floor, taking a nap. When he sensed Luo Chen's presence, he instantly woke up.

"Go back to sleep," Luo Chen said and paid him no further attention.

Yet the thick-skinned flood dragon shrank in size and swam over to him. He didn't dare climb up Luo Chen's arm after the last warning, so he settled at his feet; it seemed that he was able to sleep more soundly this way.

Less than two months later, however, Black King was jolted awake, as if his tail had gotten stepped on. Looking up, he saw the white-clad Luo Chen sitting cross-legged on a mat, with the blood-red sword full of killing intent set across his knees. The weapon was drawing and expelling wisps of crimson sword qi, like a snake flicking its tongue. Black King had been woken up because the crimson sword qi had stung him!

He swallowed hard, feeling scared and uncertain. Is Master practicing some new formidable secret technique again?

Having followed Luo Chen for all these years, Black King had naturally seen him practice new techniques plenty of times. Many of those times, his master would even try said techniques on him. Black King wasn't too bothered by that usually, but he prayed from the bottom of his heart that Luo Chen wouldn't make him the test subject this time.

That sword was already terrifying enough before, and now whatever the wicked hell it's imbued with is giving me pain all over just by being near. If it touches me for real, I'll be skinned at best. Worst case scenario, I'll probably have to use my Undying Body to survive.

Fortunately for Black King, Luo Chen completely ignored his presence, focused as he was on the blood-red sword on his knees. After some time, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Finally, Beginner level!"

Luo Chen had never expected that it would be so difficult to reach the initial mastery level of this sword scripture.

Over the long time Luo Chen practiced Stilling Wind and Waves, he had cultivated an all-severing sword heart, and he had even been able to generate sword light in the Mirage Dragon Pocket World. With such a foundation, he had expected that it wouldn't be all that hard to achieve some basic proficiency in the Myriad Transformations of the Firmament. Yet when he tried to fuse crimson firmament energy into Primordial Slaughter, something unexpected transpired: The unknown spirit dormant in the sword had instinctively resisted this energy.

That made things difficult. To begin learning the Myriad Transformations of the Firmament, a medium was required to refine the crimson firmament energy, whether it be a sword orb or a flying sword. Luo Chen had naturally reserved Primordial Slaughter for this role only to be met with intense resistance upon practice, leaving him with no choice but to stop trying to learn this scripture under his own power. He resorted to spending the achievement points accumulated over many years to force his way in. Then, after reaching the beginner level for this technique, he realized where his mistake was.

Since Primordial Slaughter had its own sword spirit, forcibly fusing crimson firmament energy into it without any communication in advance was bound to damage the spirituality of this entity. Naturally, it had fought back, hence Luo Chen's futile struggle to learn the sword scripture through this method.

Once he understood the reason behind the ordeal, coming up with a solution had been fairly easy. Since it had been impossible for him to break through the third layer of seal on Primordial Slaughter to refine the sword spirit anyway, he had simply placed three more restrictions on top of it!

They were an origin blood restriction, a mana restriction, and a soul restriction. With these three layers of insurance and also isolation, the sword spirit finally resisted no longer. Only then had Luo Chen methodically channeled a stream of crimson firmament energy into the blade.

Now, staring at the blood-red sword constantly breathing in and out sword energy, Luo Chen sank into deep thoughts.

The Crimson Firmament Sword Energy needs to be nurtured day and night until I can wield it freely like it's my own limb. The sword scripture says the Purple Mansion is the best place to nurture it, but the sword spirit in Primordial Slaughter doesn't acknowledge me as its master the way that the Withering-Flourishing Fire Sprite does, so it's too dangerous to let it inside my Purple Mansion.

After some contemplation, Luo Chen placed his left index finger on his bare forearm, and swiped it like drawing a slash. His incredibly tough skin was sliced open like butter. As he raised a thought, the blood-red sword instantly shrank and turned into a red streak, disappearing into his right arm between the Heaven and Human acupoints.[1]

With a calm look on his face, Luo Chen wiped his arm. The cut immediately closed and smoothened, leaving only a faint red line on his soft, fair skin.

"If I supply it with the mana from the Heaven, Earth, and Human acupoints, that should count as nurturing it day and night. Besides, if I place it here, I'll be able to take it out right away whenever I need it."

With the Primordial Slaughter Sword settled in its new house, Luo Chen drew a stream of crimson firmament energy from the Primordial Unity Cauldron and began slow refinement. He had to refine it to a suitable degree before infusing it into Primordial Slaughter.

***

Another month passed.

In the early morning when the fog was still thick, the Six Restriction Cloud Carriage stopped at the edge of a sea region where blue and black waters intersected.

"Come on up."

"Yay!"

Black King happily crawled up Luo Chen's left arm and turned into a coiling dragon pattern on the Profound Dust Armor. He never even considered the right arm anymore; he really disliked the sword inside it!

Once Black King was settled, Luo Chen went outside, where Heavenjade and the others were waiting for him. He ambled to the edge of the deck and looked down at the sea below.

The clear blue water was normal seawater, while the black water was the Netherwater often heard of in rumors. Apparently, this Netherwater constituted a barrier that protected the Nether Origin Sect. If a cultivator came into contact with it, their enchanted clothes and treasures would be tainted, and even their qi armor would immediately vanish into nothingness. Moreover, once the Netherwater tainted something, it would never go away; it would keep corroding that thing like a stubborn maggot eating into bone.

It seems similar to the Sunken Sea water, but their characteristics are completely different; one just stains, the other corrodes. The Nether Origin Sect placed it near the coast, so sea monsters and outsiders can't just sneak in along the bottom of the sea.

As Luo Chen assessed the seawater, a flying boat carrying a group of cultivators approached from afar, crossing the stretch of Netherwater. The black flag on it emitted a bright light that scattered the Netherwater wherever the boat passed. Before long, it was within range of the Six Restriction Cloud Carriage.

"State your identity!"

Hearing this, Sang Jinghe hurriedly stepped out from behind Luo Chen and presented the customs pass. The young-looking Adept leading the other team took the jade scroll and scanned it with his divine consciousness.

"You're from the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance?"

"Yes. We are going to the Eastern Wilderness for business," Sang Jinghe replied.

The Adept frowned slightly. "Cultivators from the trade alliance? Hmm... Which House do you represent? Or are you from the Heaven Origin Dao Sect proper?"

Sang Jinghe was taken aback. Has something happened? Why is their clearance process so strict?

Luo Chen put on a faint smile and spoke up in response. "Neither. I'm a guest elder of the Star Gate, and these are my subordinates."

The Adept had already realized that the true master of the carriage was this white-robed cultivator; just by standing there, he gave off the imposing feeling of a sky-piercing sword. The moment he heard Luo Chen's answer, his eyes widened. "A guest elder of the Star Gate? You're from Heaven-Earth Peak?"

"That is correct. My name is Luo Chen."

As he said this, an identity token rose from his hand and slowly floated toward his interlocutor.

The Adept carefully caught it and checked the token to confirm whether it carried one of the symbols their sect had instructed them to memorize. As for the cultivation of the man in white, his answer had made it more than obvious.

"My apologies for delaying you, Senior." The Adept's expression turned respectful. He waved the large, black flag on his boat, and the Netherwater below immediately retreated to make a path.

Luo Chen nodded, and his cloud carriage slowly flew in. The moment it started crossing the Netherwater, he clearly felt a pressure that dissipated wherever the black water parted.

I see, so they also set up a restraining formation here.

While Luo Chen pondered this, his carriage reached the flying boat. The Adept from earlier flew onto the carriage. "I am Chi Zhong. Honored to meet you, Sage Luo!"

Luo Chen nodded. "You're a disciple of the Nether Origin Sect?"[2]

Chi Zhong answered with a hint of pride, "Extraordinary judgement, Sage. I am an inner disciple of the Nether Origin Sect, here on my patrol duty."

Luo Chen certainly had exceptional discernment, but that was not how he had figured this out. It was simply that he had seen enough Holy Land disciples to easily recognize their unconscious hubris. Both the Primordial Devil Sect remnants in the Northern Sea and the True Inheritors of the Heaven Origin Dao Sect shared this mannerism. Moreover, their kind of pride was different from that of upper sect disciples; it was true arrogance that allowed them to fear nothing!

For the same reason, the respect that Chi Zhong showed him was only superficial. However, Luo Chen didn't care and moved on to the others. "The people with you are not from your sect, are they?"

Chi Zhong replied, "Indeed, they are not. They are disciples of the East Sun Sect."

"The East Sun Sect?" Luo Chen muttered in thought.

The Eastern Wilderness used to have thirty-six domains and thirty-six corresponding upper sects. Each upper sect governed a domain that was named after it. Luo Chen was, obviously, most familiar with the Far East Six Domains near the Great Million Mountains, but he had also heard of an extremely powerful upper sect in the far west called the East Sun Sect. It sported no fewer than five Sages, and it was on the same level as the Ice Pole Sect that he once had a glimpse of in the Northern Sea.

Since the sun rose in the east, while the East Sun Domain was in the far west, the name made no sense whatsoever at face value. In reality, however, if one looked from outside the Eastern Wilderness, the sun actually rose from the sky above the East Sun Domain.

The East Sun Sect's territory was the gateway into the Eastern Wilderness, overlooking the Central Continent and extending to the Southern Deserts and Northern Sea. As for why the Nether Origin Sect had comfortably entrusted such an important area to the East Sun Sect's management... that was because the East Sun Sect had been founded by a brother of an Ascendant of the Nether Origin Sect, and it had then prospered mostly thanks to the support provided by the latter.

The two sects' same-generation cultivators regarded each other as fellow disciples. Therefore, it was nothing terribly unusual that Chi Zhong, a member of the Nether Origin Sect, would lead the East Sun Sect disciples on patrol missions.

Having gotten the rough idea, Luo Chen changed the topic. "Where is the headquarters of the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance in the East Sun Domain?"

Chi Zhong replied without even needing to think, "Divine Origin Immortal City."

"Hah." Luo Chen couldn't help chuckling. Divine Origin City again?

But his smile soon faded as he realized a problem.

The Heaven Origin Trade Alliance had established a Divine Origin City in the Northern Sea where they saw fit; they had opened a port, and conducted trade in all directions. Meanwhile, its branch in the Eastern Wilderness was confined to the East Sun Domain and monitored by the East Sun Sect. This indicated a massive difference between the Primordial Devil Sect's control over the Northern Sea and the Nether Origin Sect's control over the Eastern Wilderness.

That was where the problem lay.

The Primordial Devil Sect's grip on the Northern Sea was somewhat loose, so when facing the army of demons, it had ended up relying solely on itself to fight back all the demons across the whole continent. Under such circumstances, its ultimate defeat had been entirely understandable.

Meanwhile, the Nether Origin Sect had tight control over the Eastern Wilderness, second only to the Heaven Origin Dao Sect's control over the Central Continent. So why, in the face of the demons' attacks, had this Holy Land been unable to mount a response that matched its influence?

When I get back, I'll probably see a quagmire of trouble... Luo Chen lamented in his heart.

The flying carriage sped forward, rapidly approaching the Port of East Sun. Luo Chen happened to look over just as the thick mist dissipated and revealed a blazing sun rising into the sky.

A hot rising sun, what a good omen! Way better than that blood-dyed starry sky when I first got to the Central Continent!

***

As their carriage entered the port, Heavenjade transmitted, "Master, I feel a little unwell."

Luo Chen quickly found the source of Heavenjade's discomfort. It was a mirror hanging on the port's high archway.

A demon detector?

He hadn't expected the Eastern Wilderness to take such stringent precautions against the demon race. The inquiry earlier and the Netherwater barrier were one thing, but they had even placed an enchanted treasure at the port entrance for inspection!

Luo Chen calmly reassured her, "Don't worry. This mirror isn't powerful enough to reflect your true form."

Heavenjade relaxed a little. Still, she controlled her mana to stick to her demon core, doing her best not to let any leak out.

In fact, as far as Luo Chen was concerned, it wouldn't be a big deal even if her mana leaked. Heavenjade had gained her human form a good century ago, and she was every bit as human-like as anyone could possibly be. Moreover, her stately and upright mana was drastically different from the chilling demonic power common among her peers.

An artifact like Fu Chaosheng's True Spirit Treasure Mirror might be able to reveal Heavenjade's true form, but a mere enchanted treasure like the demon-detector mirror, and without an expert operating it, had zero chances. And even if they did end up discovering her, it wouldn't matter. These days, who among powerful cultivators didn't have a demon servant or a mount for transportation?

When the Six Restriction Cloud Carriage passed the archway, the demon-detector mirror had no reaction, just as Luo Chen had expected. Behind him, Chi Zhong's group was completely relieved to see this.

"Sage, I still have my duty to fulfill, so I can't escort you around. But I have imprinted the location of Divine Origin City on this scroll so you can get there by yourself," said Chi Zhong as he handed Luo Chen two jade scrolls. One was a map of Divine Origin City and its location, and the other was an entry permit.

Luo Chen accepted them without checking and smiled at Chi Zhong. "Thank you, young friend. May we meet again in the future."

The Six Restriction Cloud Carriage slowly rose once more. Passing over the gradually bustling East Sun Port, it flew deeper into the East Sun Domain.

A junior brother in Chi Zhong's group sighed. "That Sage was so imposing! I didn't even dare look straight at him, even from a distance, but you were able to talk to him with such ease. What an admirable state of mind you have, Senior Brother Chi... As expected of a Holy Land disciple!"

Hearing the undisguised flattery, Chi Zhong chuckled and feigned modesty. "It has nothing to do with me. I think that senior must be practicing some kind of unusual cultivation technique, because his aura was not overbearing at all. He was actually quite easy to get along with, nowhere near as scary as you say."

He then waved his hand. "You guys continue patrolling. I need to report to Dao Uncle Lu that a Sage from the Central Continent has arrived. He said his name was Luo Chen, right?"

"Yes, Luo Chen, a guest elder of the Star Gate!"

1. The Heaven, Earth, and Human acupoints are located on the forearm, along the radius bone. The Heaven acupoint is 3 cun from the elbow, followed by the Earth and Human acupoints and the wrist also at 3-cun intervals. ☜

2. Luo Chen comments internally that the disciple has a good name (迟重 Chí Zhòng), interpreting it as "mature and prudent." It's a somewhat odd comment in the context, however, and although a native speaker of Chinese would likely assume these are the corresponding characters, there are multiple similar-sounding surnames and given names, so it cannot be said with perfect certainty based on the sound alone. That said, we have decided to remove that bit. ☜